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=== US anti-vax anti-China covert operation ===
At the beginning of the pandemic, [[Philippine]] President [[Duterte]] had sought Chinese assistance for vaccines, easing claims in the South China Sea, and improving relations between the two countries. To counter China's influence in the Philippines, under [[Donald Trump]]'s presidency, the US military conducted a covert operation aimed at spreading doubts about the safety of Chinese aid, including vaccines. This campaign of misinformation has contributed to low vaccination coverage and increased death rates from COVID-19 in the Philippines. Health experts condemned these actions, pointing out the damage done to public trust and global health. The operation involved the creation of fake social media accounts posing as Filipinos and spreading anti-vaccine messages. The campaign was described by then-Defense Secretary [[Mark Esper]] as "payback" for [[COVID-19 misinformation by China|COVID-19 disinformation by China]] directed against the U.S.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Toropin |first=Konstantin |date=2024-06-14 |title=Pentagon Stands by Secret Anti-Vaccination Disinformation Campaign in Philippines After Reuters Report |url=https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/06/14/pentagon-stands-secret-anti-vaccination-disinformation-campaign-philippines-after-reuters-report.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240614223757/https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/06/14/pentagon-stands-secret-anti-vaccination-disinformation-campaign-philippines-after-reuters-report.html |archive-date=2024-06-14 |access-date=2024-06-19 |website=[[Military.com]] |language=en}}</ref>
The operation spread to other regions such as in the Middle East and Central Asia like [[Kazakhstan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]] and [[Uzbekistan]], where the Pentagon aimed to intensify fears that the Chinese vaccine produced by Sinovac Biotech contained pork derivatives, and could be considered "haram", i.e. forbidden by Islamic law.<ref name="reutersUsNovax">{{Cite news |title=Pentagon ran secret anti-vax campaign to undermine China during pandemic |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/pentagon-ran-secret-anti-vax-campaign-undermine-china-during-pandemic-2024-06-14/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/14/pentagon-ran-secret-anti-vax-campaign-to-undermine-china-during-pandemic|title=US ran secret anti-vax campaign to undermine China's COVID efforts: Report}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2024/06/14/pentagon-launched-secret-anti-vax-campaign-to-discredit-china-during-covid-pandemic-report-says/|title=Pentagon Launched Secret Anti-Vax Campaign To Discredit China During COVID Pandemic, Report Says|website=[[Forbes]] }}</ref>
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